Sometimes technical writers confuse software requirements specifications for system specifications. While in certain cases they may prove to be the same, they are different in nature for a very simple reason: a system may include more than a software component. There are countless systems which comprise of software AND hardware AND networking AND etc. components. That’s why system specs cannot be assumed to be one and the same as software (or hardware) specs.

So how do we as technical writers differentiate between these two specs and how do we write them?

It’s best to illustrate it with a concrete example.

Let’s say that System Requirements Specification of an integrated security camera system require the following functionality:

“The system shall take and safely store full-color 300 dpi resolution 6″x9″ JPG images of the Casino game room 20 times a minute, 24 hours a day.”

You now need to “partition” this requirement and spell out its implications for the software, hardware, and networking subsystems that make up the total integrated security system.

More often than not these conceptually separate specs are thrown together and written in one “design document” or “spec document.” But as a professional technical communicator you should be aware of the analytical differences between different kinds of specs and how they work together. The larger and more complicated a project gets, the more troubles you’ll avoid by keeping such specs separate.

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